Kingston to unveil app through which quality-of-life complaints can be filed

The smart phone app, created by CitySoucred and to be formally unveiled by Mayor Shayne Gallo on Thursday, will allow city residents to report quality-of-life issues. Gallo is scheduled to speak at10:30 a.m. at City Hall, 420 Broadway.

“Every day, each of our city departments receives calls from concerned citizens regarding quality-of-life issues in and around their home, business or local park, and I understand the importance of being accountable and able to rapidly respond to constituent concerns before they escalate into larger problems,” Gallo said in a press release. “The quicker we can respond to quality-of-life issues the less frequently it occurs, which saves taxpayer dollars while also reducing the amount of time it takes for staff to manually report these issues.”

Issues that can be reported through the app run the gamut from trash problems to environmental hazards to park vandalism.

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Once the problem is inputted, a message is sent automatically to the city. Photos can be posted, too.

City Environmental Educator Steve Noble said the app could go a long way toward helping protect the city’s environment.

“Being able to utilize your mobile device to relay quality-of-life and environmental issues to the correct city departments is an important tool in safeguarding our environment,” Noble said in the same press release.

Noble is serving as the project manager for “Kingston: Report It.”

Noble said users of the app can help Kingston better identify and track frequent flooding near catch basins, blocked culverts, illicit discharges and other environmental hazards, “all while mapping this data in our developing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database.”

“This project aligns with the mayor’s efforts to improve citizen communication through our soon-to-be-updated website and increased use of our social media platforms,” Noble said.

Kyle McIntosh, the city’s information technology director, said: “This project will also allow direct communication with each and every user, which will be utilized to distribute important information via text message in a timely manner.”

CitySourced, based in Los Angeles, works with municipalities across the county to implement the system. The local effort is being funded by the state’s Hudson River Estuary Program.

CitySourced founder Jason Kiesel said the company designed the app “in order to streamline, prevent and help predict the occurrences of urban blights and improve quality of life and public safety using mobile technology.”

About the Author

Paul Kirby is a reporter for the Freeman, covering Kingston politics. He has been at the Freeman since August 1996. Reach the author at pkirby@freemanonline.com
or follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulatFreeman.